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Friday, November 29, 2013

Well, if it's Friday, then that must been it's time for Freebie Fetish Friday!

Every Friday I take the initiative to search through thew newly free titles on Amazon, and to identify those that might be of interest to trans* readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon's free reading applications, and covert it (if need be) with Calibre. I can tell you I do most of my reading on my iPad, using Kindle for iPad, and it works beautifully.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, though, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Anyway, without further ado, I give you this week's freebie reads (just click on the covers below):

Acquired by Solar Harris is a book I borrowed through my Kindle Prime membership. Boy, am I glad I did. It's one of the sexiest little novels I've ever read.

Set some time in the not too distant future, a business traveler to Thailand happens upon a shop that sells him an advanced microchip. Although it is billed as a device designed to capture in detail the profiles of others so he can have some fun choosing a new identity at will, it somehow malfunctions. He soon finds himself at the mercy of this infernal machine which he finds is choosing female identities at random and forcing them upon him.

Although he tries to free himself from this embedded technology, the pleasure he is receiving as a woman becomes too much for him and he is forced to surrender to it. However, in his new persona, he doesn't exactly live happily ever after, or maybe he does. This is a really good read and what a way to go!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Transgression by Theo Fenraven, is a fine romance that details the coming together of two unlikely individuals, and the barriers they need to overcome to do so. On a deeper level it is a story that addresses the societal stigma that virtually mandates heterosexuality for those in the public eye.

In other words, if our heroes and role models are found to be other than “straight” can they continue to be successful and revered? Or, will they be ostracized and be brought crashing down?

It also speaks to the horrible prejudices that many transgender people must endure. When do you tell a prospective partner that you were not born in your presenting gender? What indignities must you put up with to earn a living and survive? Can you demonstrate your true self and not suffer the crushing self-esteem issues that result in almost constant insecurity and self-doubt?

Lastly, one of the things I especially enjoyed about this book, and actually a word of caution, it depicts a confluence of events that result in a situation that generates extreme anxiety for the protagonists. This is so realistically portrayed that it resulted in a small panic attack for this reader as it brought up some flashbacks of forgotten events. See if it doesn’t do so for you!

Monday, November 25, 2013

I'm always excited when a new Storm Moon Press title comes my way. There aren't too many publishers out there who can manage such an elaborate mesh of quality writing and sheer sexuality. Their titles are never afraid to walk that fine edge between taboo and trash where our imagination can run free, without fear, guilt, or shame.

Kathleen Tudor has pulled together four very different authors, with four very different stories in the Turning the Tables anthology. I would have altered the order of stories slightly - Double Dealing is a difficult story to kick things off - but I can't find fault with any of them.

Like I said, Double Dealing is a difficult tale. It's a very dark, very cerebral sort of science fiction tale, one that bends you over roughly and pegs your mind as much as your behind. It's a bit hard to follow, and the mix of emotions carries with it a heavy sort of emotional detachment, but it makes the eroticism even more powerful.

Permanency is an altogether different kind of tale, full of light, hope, and romance. It's the story of a healthy, polyamorous relationship where the kids are delighted to have a mother, a father, and a special uncle. As strange as it is to explore a little anal pegging in such a wholesome context, the story works because of the romance. It's a feel good tale that touches heart, head, and loins all at the same time, and has one of the loveliest conclusions a gurl could ask for.

While Phallusy marks another significant change of pace, this time involving sexual magic, it's an altogether fantastic one. My personal favourite, it takes the old fantasy trope of a medieval society where women are little more than conquests and completely twists it. It introduces us to a female-led Amazon-like society where men are pegged as much for pleasure as to keep them under control. It's a humorous story, but also an extremely sexy one. It walks that taboo line, flirting with issues of rape, consent, and a sort of magical mind control, but overall it's very empowering . . . and arousing.

The collection ends with Your Most Humble and Obedient Servant, a sexy take on the old tale of pirate booty - except, in this case, the pirate is a strong, powerful, dominant Arab woman, and the booty in question belongs to a desperate, submissive British Captain who finds himself at her mercy. It touches again upon the themes of romance and empowerment, and echoes many of the sentiments of Phallusy , but without the tongue-in-cheek element.

Sexy and erotic, this is a wonderful collection that's as well-written as it is kinky. Any one of the stories would be worth the price of admission but, together, they make Turning the Tables a total delight.

Friday, November 22, 2013

I find great pleasure in writing erotica. There's often a hint or more of romance because I enjoy happy endings, but give me a prompt that strikes a chord or get me and my writing partner started on creating a pair of characters we groove on, and off I go. Stories don't always come easily; some end up half-finished or abandoned. Yet, reasonably often, they obey my will enough to emerge complete, after some amount of conceptual pummeling and a heaping dose of editing and proofing. They may end up just where I thought they would or far, far away, but, when I'm lucky, they emerge as little treasures I'm proud of. When I'm even luckier, they make their way into print.

For those of us who write often and over a period of time, there is a road of conceptualization and composition that develops its own rhythm, different for every author, but delightful enough—even when a struggle—that we keep on driving. Editing the work of others, I am coming to learn, is a whole different highway.

When I began to receive submissions for my first edited collection of fiction, Shakespearotica: Queering the Bard, I had some ideas of what I most wanted to see, some thoughts of how authors might best interpret the call for submissions, and some expectations of being both delighted and disappointed. I didn't want to get my hopes too high, and I didn't want to miss a gem because it needed a little tweaking. In another part of my life, I'm an academic, and so I'm not unfamiliar with the demands of editing; but I don't teach creative writing, and I had mixed feelings about editing the fiction of others.

Some editors of erotica, I know, simply don't/won't edit submissions. A story simply fits their needs and requires only the minimum of proofing or it doesn't. When rejected, they offer no feedback other than a form letter, and they move on. Because I do teach, I knew I wouldn't be that kind of editor. I provided feedback to all authors I accepted, from reader response to content editing to copy editing and proofing. I offered to provide response to all authors whose work I did not accept as well, and though it was less pleasant than the experience with acceptances, I felt it was important to state why and how the story did not meet the needs of the anthology as I conceptualized it. I was careful to clarify that this was not a wholesale condemnation of the story or even an unbiased professional opinion. One story did more telling than showing; one required more editing of its structure than I thought reasonable for the limits of time and energy I had as an editor. As I told the authors, I hoped they would find a home in print for their tale, and I wished them well. I rejected only the words on the page I received for specific reasons I tried hard to explain with tact and respect.

This helped me to see why so many editors do not provide such feedback for rejected works, but it was important to me as an educator and fellow writer. The fact that I did not receive 100 submissions for a collection of ten tales aided my ability to do as I thought best as a writer/editor. In addition, the majority of submissions I got were wonderful, and the intensive editing interactions I had with a few of the authors were met with gratitude. For me, the editing labor has to be one of love, or I can't do it. I don't write or edit to become rich or as a primary source of revenue, so I could and did work closely with "my" authors and their stories, and I think the collection is the better for it.

Of course, the specific topic of the anthology is Shakespeare, and this no doubt impacted the number and quality of manuscripts I received. While the book is entirely composed of erotica, and queer erotica at that (from gay and lesbian pairings and groups to bi, trans, and gender-playful characters), the inspiration for each story is the Bard and his writing. There are tales that rewrite orientations and scenarios while sticking closely to the plots of the source plays and tributes to performing Shakespeare on the contemporary stage. But all the writing in Shakespearotica shares a love for the master of English playwriting and his creations. If you're someone who knows Shakespeare only as the author of that ornate stuff you had to read in high school that seemed penned in a foreign language, you most likely aren't someone who submitted your fiction to my call. (That said, even those who feel iffy about reading Shakespeare smut will likely find much to enjoy in the collection; the combination of love, lust, and great writing is worth the low price of admission and then some.)

In the end, I can say with confidence that my first efforts as an editor of erotica gave me both pleasure and pain, and a great deal of food for thought. I met wonderful new writers and enjoyed working with several whose work I already knew and admired. I delighted in the creativity of minds that work differently from my own, helping me to learn some new tricks and approaches I hope to try out myself in future. And I now have a book, with my pen name on the cover, that I am gloriously, lustfully proud of. What more could a new editor ask for?

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Blurb:
Frolicking in gender play and sexual diversity, the ten authors collected in this volume offer a dazzling array of queer erotica and romance. Stories range from comic to tragic and historical to fantastic, taking up textual hints overt and subtle as they engage with the power of lust and love. By Any Other Name introduces the beautiful young Renaissance thespian Anthony, who faces a challenge for the women's roles he covets. Then, The Buttboy of Nicomedes: A Masque in Eight Scenes offers a gay farce built upon an original chorus of gossiping guards who crassly comment on the gay exploits they witness unseen. For Love or Duty explores a complex affection between Iago and the Moor in, while The Ills We Do reveals their wives' secret attractions.

All Pucked Up: A Midsummer Night's Romp shows new ways the four lovers of A Midsummer Night's Dream can be paired and grouped... with the right magical intervention. Next, A Well-Placed Pinch shows three young contemporary women rehearsing and improvising well beyond the script of Twelfth Night. Improvisation is also at the heart of a passionate encounter between two members of an all-gay cast in Much Ado About a Kiss. A meager Romeo proves the perfect fit for an irresistible beast with three backs when he practices swordplay with his Mercutio and Tybalt in A Tight to Remember. Smoke Signals shows the erotic pleasure of a young woman’s crossdressing experience when heightened by the coaching of her more experienced male co-star. Finally, As We Like It: A Romance brings a science fictional future in which we learn how the trans desires of Ross (née Rosalind) can best be filled.

Whether you're a devotee or just Bard-curious, Shakespearotica has something for every lusty reader.

Salome Wilde (@SalomeWilde on Twitter) is the author of pansexual erotica and romance in genres from contemporary to historical and from Southern Gothic to hardboiled detective. She loves hurt-comfort and naughty humor in equal measure, as long as she gets her HEA. She is thrilled to be a writer for Storm Moon Press, with whom she has published the first of a three-novella series as well as her irst edited anthology, Shakespearotica: Queering the Bard.

Well, if it's Friday, then that must been it's time for Freebie Fetish Friday!

Every Friday I take the initiative to search through thew newly free titles on Amazon, and to identify those that might be of interest to trans* readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon's free reading applications, and covert it (if need be) with Calibre. I can tell you I do most of my reading on my iPad, using Kindle for iPad, and it works beautifully.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, though, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Anyway, without further ado, I give you this week's freebie reads (just click on the covers below):

This little work, so much more than a book about travel, reflects and reveals many deep personal insights about the Rene Jax's psyche. There are physical places described, of course, some far off and some nearer by. Some are magnificent and others vile and dangerous, but all are seen and depicted in the author's gentle, vivid and eloquent style. The Soulful Traveler is a journey of self, presented as a parallel process in the author's reflections about the countries and places she has visited. Throughout her journeys, she peers deeply into her own soul to make sense of what she observes in the context of who she is and who she has become.

On trips taken for business or with no purpose other than to explore, there is a deep and poetic nostalgia evident for old experiences and for relationships lost, and an enduring sadness and longing for a love that can no longer be and for a child that was never born. Along the way, the author observes humanity and inhumanity, inequities among nations and people and the further oppression of the already downtrodden. But there is also joy, insight, satisfaction and acknowledgement, buttressed by the author's own struggle for gender congruence. Lest one think this short work is depressing, it is not. It stands as a realistic lament that although life has moved on and taken the bloom, dreams and hopes of youth, it still holds the hopeful promise of many good journeys to come.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Blurb:In the year 2050, humanity finds out they are indeed not alone.Massive space ships appear without warning above the capital cities of all major nations. The planet Tah'Nar is dying. Chemical warfare has reduced the once-intersexed warrior race to sterility. They need fresh DNA in order to reproduce and have an idea for a harvesting program... and so they turn to Earth. Earth governments negotiate a lottery, and Dale Michael assumes he's safe since he's under the Harvest age limit. How wrong he is. He's illegally harvested and claimed by Tah'Narian starship captain Keyno Shou. From the moment Keyno sees Dale, he knows he must claim the spirited human male for his own. What he doesn't expect is a spitfire with a mind of his own—and a deadly disease that will require a risky procedure to cure.

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Interview:
Hey everyone! I'm so pleased to drop by and talk about my new novel The Harvest: Taken. This is the first book of two books that cover Dale's journey through one of the scariest times in human history. But it's also a voyage of a young human male and alien who both grow, learn, find trust, and fall in love. And their path is not always easy.

I thought it would be neat to focus on Dale in this post. Dale also wanted to talk about his life now that he's mated to Keyno but also what his life was like before the Tah'Narians arrived.

~Who's your favorite horror villain and why?

Dale: Hmm, that's a hard one. I'm not much on horror movies, but I guess I'd say my favorite would be Jason from Friday the 13th. Frankly, the first two movies were the best; I thought the rest were kind of silly. Yes, the show was gory, but it also had that... I guess you'd call it 'creep factor'. That music alone was enough to make your hair stand on end, lol.

~What's the best advice anyone has ever given you?

*laugh* To think before I open my mouth. I freely admit I don't always do this. In fact—according to my mate, Keyno, and my best friend, Chad—I rarely think before I act. But then, I can think of several situations that have happened since I met Keyno that if I hadn't acted spontaneously, things might not have turned out like they did.

But yeah, I think the standing joke around here is I leap before I look.

~What's your guilty pleasure?

Huh. That's a hard one, too. I really enjoy fishing, but that's not a guilty pleasure. It's just a pleasure, lol. I don't feel guilty about it. Well, I may feel a little guilty when Chad and I go camping. I usually refuse to help him set up the tent. But hey! If he'd get a new one it would be much easier. Or let me spring for one. That one he refuses to get rid of is possessed, lol.

~What do you do to relax?
I like to exercise. Keyno and I work out with the hast, which are similar to nunchuks. I like to read romance novels, and I'm pretty sure Keyno reads the books when I'm not looking.

~What is your idea of how to spend romantic time with your significant other?

*Laugh* Keyno could answer that better than I can. He's always finding things to do that are romantic. I just like spending time with my mate—just us without the usual interference of his starship duties, dealing with his royal family members, and so on. As long as we're together, that's all that matters.

~What is your favorite meal?

I guess I'd have to say fried catfish, loaded bake potato, crab salad, and hushpuppies. But honestly, I'll pretty much eat anything, and the more 'alien' foods and drinks I've tried has been good, too. *evil grin* There was this drink Ti served at the reception held for the Tah'Narians. Heh, if you read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about. Yes, I was being bad when I mentioned the drink to Keyno, lol.

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Excerpt:
I spent the next hour with the education headgear, listening and watching, learning about their culture. Finally, Keyno made a motion with his hand for me to stop.

I removed the thing from my head. "Yeah?"

"How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, I guess." Fine as I could be stuck off in space on a starship orbiting the Earth with an alien that I wasn't sure about. The smartass in me was tempted to plaster a big cheesy grin across my face and do the universal 'thumbs up' sign. I resisted the urge, barely. Who knew how long my self-control would last? "I'm a little hungry. Can we eat now?"

Keyno watched me for a moment before nodding his head. "Yes. Anything special you want, or should I just surprise you? Let me shut down the holo-comp and we can decide."

"What's that thing again?"

"It's like a computer but the image is projected."

"Oh, cool."

Keyno shut down the holo-comp and moved around the living quarters, straightening things. "Anything in particular you want?"

"I'm craving steak—and I want it rare. Which is odd, since I don't like my meat still kicking when it gets to the table."

Keyno moved around the room. It took me a minute to figure out he was doing things to keep busy—like he was nervous or something. Somehow, that made me feel better.

"Can that machine handle that?"

Keyno just gave me a little private smile as he turned away, like he knew why my eating habits were suddenly changing. "Yes, it won't take long. Why don't you go wash up? I'll bring your dinner to the bedroom and we'll eat there."

"You're really serious about keeping me in bed for the next two days, huh?" I jumped out of bed and sauntered to the bathroom. I felt fine.

"Yes, I am. I just wish the reason was different," Keyno mumbled under his breath.

Okay, that got my feet moving. I hurried to the bathroom. I ran the sink full of cool water and seriously debated dunking my whole face in it, anything to get rid of the redness in my cheeks. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. What he said actually made me hard, and wasn't that a trip? Where had this sudden spike of sexual tension come from? I didn't want to be attracted to this alien, even if I was wearing his—well, he called it a necklace, but the word "collar" came to mind.

What was happening to me? Was it all that alien DNA they flooded me with? Okay, yes, he was good-looking, for an alien. I liked my guys big and tall... and human. Didn't I? The whole head-dunking thing was looking better and better. I stared at the mirror and tried to figure out what was happening to me—what I wanted. Was I actually attracted to him? The evidence said I was, even though my mind yelled that I was being stupid. He'd all but kidnapped me and I still wasn't happy with him over that. Okay, "unhappy" was an understatement.

I didn't want to be here—I shouldn't be here, but here I was.

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Author Bio:
M.A. Church lives in the southern United States and spent many years in the elementary education sector. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they have two children. Her hobbies are gardening, walking, attending flea markets, watching professional football, racing, and spending time with her family on the lake.

But her most beloved hobby is reading. From an early age, she can remember hunting for books at the library. Later nonhuman and science fiction genres captured her attention and drew her into the worlds the authors had created. But always at the back of her mind was the thought that one day, when the kids were older and she had more time, she would write a book.

By sheer chance she stumbled across a gay male romance story on the web and was hooked. A new world opened up and she fell in love. Thus the journey started. When not writing or researching, she enjoys reading the latest erotic and mainstream romance novels. She can be found on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Reclamation by Karen Bishop is a well-written and often entertaining novel about horrible child abuse and religious extremism. It is set in the context of gender transformation, ingredients guaranteed to hold the reader’s interest.

On the plus side, we have a well-conceived story with roots in the world of today, where truth is often stranger than fiction. However, throw in a love story, a forensic legal and detective tale, a high-couture fashion element and one begins to think that the author has tried to do too much. Oh, let me not forget to mention that there are also some teenage hijinks and the involvement of a family of altruistic European benefactors.

The author has produced a wonderful opening and an exciting conclusion. The problem is the long and drawn out mid-section of the book that left this reader wondering if it would ever end. Though Reclamation started out on the right track and held my interest in spite of the vast potpourri of ingredients it contained, it definitely could benefited by being shorter, less wordy and more to the point.

Squirrel Cage by Cindi Jones is one of the premier memoirs on gender transition I have read. Recently, I downloaded the Kindle version and listened to the book, which I had first read in paperback form in 2009. It is not often that I revisit a book, but in this case, I’m glad I did.

This work stands out as one of the most poignant, gut-wrenching and inspiring works about transsexualism you can read. Squirrel Cage is a story about the struggle of a person driven inexorably by the demons of gender dysphoria, coming to terms with who she really is. It takes on the universal themes of love, betrayal, loss and perseverance, leading to eventual triumph in the face of the most daunting deterrents. Overcoming his own internal strife and the barriers that place him at odds with his religion, his employers, his wife and family, it is a story that chronicles one man’s transition to a female gender role and eventually, to a productive and fulfilling life as a woman.

Monday, November 18, 2013

With A Private Collection, Caroline Jane Wetherby takes her story and her storytelling efforts to a whole other level. As much as I enjoyed her first story in the Caroline's Company series, I simply was not prepared for the magnificent ways in which she advanced the core themes and expanded the story threads previously only hinted at.

If you'll allow me to gush for a moment, let's talk about those core themes of love and gender. I honestly cannot remember the last time I read a novel (erotic or otherwise) that took such a sweet, tender, and wholesome approach to a BDSM-themed lifestyle. Although Wetherby explores everything from old-fashioned collars to cutting-edge bio-feedback tails, and shows such wonderful imagination in how she establishes her elaborate role-playing scenes, she never loses sight of the women at the heart of it all. This is not an environment full of degradation and humiliation, but one of mutual pleasure and empowerment.

Similarly, I love the fact that Wetherby embraces, accepts, and empowers so many different expressions one one's self. There are no labels in Caroline's home regarding gender or sexuality. There are no sissies, shemales, transvestites, or transsexuals here - just women who are at a different stage of their personal evolution. There is also no labeling as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, just the rules that sex should always give enjoyment to more than one person, and that it's best for three people to be involved. Cassie in particular really gets a chance to blossom here, and is already shaping up to be one of my favorite literary heroines.

The first third of A Private Collection is a very down-to-earth sort of romantic fiction, with the girls enjoying really growing into their selves and their roles. Remove the kink factor - and Wetherby can be exceptionally kinky - and it could be mistaken for nothing more than a feel-good drama. There's a point, however, where she begins hinting at a bit of darkness with a few very brief scenes that slowly begin coming together in the second half of the story. When the darker plot fully emerges, revealing the fate of a few characters only talked about to this point, the story really climbs to a new level. As she deliberately contrasts the love and affection of Caroline's household with the cruelty and the sorrow of the human slave trade, Wetherby reveals even deeper layers of strength and solidarity in the girls.

This is a wonderfully written novel that is both extraordinarily moving and incredibly arousing. Caroline's world is the kind of home that we all aspire to, a place to feel safe, loved, accepted, and empowered. Wetherby goes to great pains to remind us that the rest of the world is not so friendly, but she also provides hope that goodness can and will prevail.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Okay, let's be honest here - when you are dealing with a book called Truckstop Shemale, you really ought to expect at least a few taboos to be bent (if not broken) and a few lines to be skirted (if not crossed). What you do not necessarily expect - unless, like myself, you are already a fan of Crystal Veeyant - is just how skillfully she handles the material.

This is a story with some very dark elements, particularly surrounding Louise's step-father, the dangers of prostitution, and the ugliness hidden behind the smiling facade of friends and neighbours. It is a story where motives are often as suspect as the acts being performed, and where the court of public opinion weighs heavily upon the lives of a broken family. That is not to say it is a sad story or a difficult one, just that the happiness and erotica is . . . well, not so much tainted but rather enhanced by the potential for darkness.

Although the illusion of incest (and the questions that it raises) is a central theme to the tale, Crystal is exceptionally clever in her use of a surrogate pregnancy to explore that most taboo of fantasies without actually crossing any lines. Even after Louise learns the biological truth about their relationship, the emotional bond remains intact, transforming her love into something . . . almost pure and wholesome. While some readers may still be uncomfortable with the emotional aspect, there is one reassurance Norma offers her daughter that, for me, really sheds new light on the situation:

"First of all, baby, just remember that's the same society that also says transgender is wrong, that gay is barely acceptable. Is that where you want to get your morals from?"

The erotic heart of the story revolves around mom and daughter first watching each other service clients, then service clients together, and then service each other for their clients. The taboos being exploited are erotic in and of themselves, but Crystal knows how to write a sex scene, how to draw the reader in, and how to ensure you have just as much fun as her characters. This is probably the hottest story she has written to date, and certainly the most explosive in terms of climactic payoffs.

Yes, it is a story that certainly glorifies prostitution to some extent, but it is also one which is aware of the potential dangers involved. Norma and Louise are careful to screen their clients, to protect themselves, and to ensure they never get put into a position over which they have no control . . . until, that is, their greed gets the best of them. That is where the story returns to darkness, ending with dear old Dad pimping out his two whores until they have made enough money to pay back his legal costs from the divorce and criminal trial. Where the story gets ever edgier, and (for me, at least) flirts with even more taboos, is when Dad brings in friends and neighbours, otherwise ordinary members of the community, to take advantage of the services being offered by Norma and Louise.

With Crystal, you know there is a happily-ever-after to come, but she certainly makes her characters earn it. I do not want to spoil the details, but she does a wonderful job of bringing the story full circle, contrasting one act of sexual abuse with another, one act of sexual rebellion with one of sexual redemption, and one act of parental protection with another. Truckstop Shemale has an entirely satisfying conclusion, even if it is not the one that I expected, and an altogether heartwarming note on which to end a very erotic, very taboo, very explicit tale.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Well, if it's Friday, then that must been it's time for Freebie Fetish Friday!

Every Friday I take the initiative to search through thew newly free titles on Amazon, and to identify those that might be of interest to trans* readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon's free reading applications, and covert it (if need be) with Calibre. I can tell you I do most of my reading on my iPad, using Kindle for iPad, and it works beautifully.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, though, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Anyway, without further ado, I give you this week's freebie reads (just click on the covers below):

Thursday, November 14, 2013

If you can get past the confused pronoun problems, some other editing issues, and the feeling that, for the writer, English is a second language, The Red and Black Garden is actually a pretty good book.

It's a very nicely conceived tale about the complexities of a relationship. Whoops, I can't say that much or I could easily give it away, because it's really a simple love story that is also somehow deeply complex. I know that sounds confusing, but it’s a tale about boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love, and then they overcome some serious issues pertaining to gender. Things go well, and there is the possibility of a successful, long-lasting and happy relationship. Then, the unthinkable happens.

Actually, there are some serious clues along the way to the “unthinkable” so perhaps it wasn’t that unthinkable after all. The only thing is that although this book is complete in itself, we find out at the end that there is a continuation novel coming out soon and then another one after that. Perhaps that’s a good thing ‘cause I’d really like to find out what happens after the "big problem" at the end. On balance, I enjoyed it and recommend it.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Secret Sissy Slave is one of Crystal Veeyant's older tales, repackaged and republished to get around last month's whole e-book censorship fiasco. While very much fantasy & fetish based, it is a fun read, and one that is absolutely genuine in its exploration of the various indulgences of human sexuality. For those who are only familiar with her latest work, it is also the first time that our window into Crystal's world is not provided through a character already comfortable with (or, at least, aware of) their own transsexual identity.

This is the story of a celebrity bad boy, a veritable rock god brought to his knees and taught a lesson in humility. There is a definite vicarious thrill in seeing him stripped of his glamour, robbed of his stage presence, and reduced to the very basis of humanity. Even when he is being cruelly punished by the women he has wronged, there is a guilty thrill to be found in taking pleasure from the erotic suffering of someone we would normally look up to in awe.

It is also the story of a sexual animal, an arrogant macho stud denied not just the validation of his masculinity, but the simple acknowledgement of his manhood. From the moment he is first put into panties, it is clear he has secrets buried deep inside his mental closet that have been hidden even from himself. While there is a definite guilty thrill in seeing him broken and feminized, transformed before our very eyes, there is also a delicious joy in sharing in his self-revelation.

This is definitely a story where the women are in charge. Armed with whips, paddles, and strap-ons of varying size, his conquests return to teach him a lesson . . . to put him, quite literally, in the place he once put them. Of course, it simply would not be Crystal without the appearance of a pair of shemale beauties to conclude events! As hard as it may be to believe in such a quick and drastic emasculation of a veritable rock god, Crystal teases it well, drops just the right amount of subtle hints as to his potential, and says just the right things to validate his newly discovered sexuality. While he allows himself to be broken more easily than you'd expect, his submission is so sincere, and his breaking is such a delight to behold, that you cannot help but become lost beside him in the orgiastic joy of the moment, wanting to become a Secret Sissy Slave yourself.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Well, if it's Friday, then that must been it's time for Freebie Fetish Friday!

Every Friday I take the initiative to search through thew newly free titles on Amazon, and to identify those that might be of interest to trans* readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon's free reading applications, and covert it (if need be) with Calibre. I can tell you I do most of my reading on my iPad, using Kindle for iPad, and it works beautifully.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, though, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Anyway, without further ado, I give you this week's freebie reads (just click on the covers below):